For consistency and reliability in bowling, the alleys must be kept in a uniform condition. As the surface of the alley becomes too slippery, i.e. with an excess of oil or too dry i.e. with insufficient oil, the interaction between the ball and the alley is not consistent thus greatly impairing the ability of a bowler to consistently contact the pins at the proper location for maximum scores. It is imperative to the tournament bowler that he be able to consistently predict the roll of the ball to maximize his score and that the reaction not vary from alley to alley.
Many devices have been introduced into the industry to service bowling alleys but because of the time involved in servicing the alleys, a time when the alleys are unproductive, these devices have proven to be generally unsatisfactory. It further is unsatisfactory to service the alley only at the end of the day since this results in an extremely dry surface and excessive wear to the alley surface during the period just prior to the servicing.
It, of course, is possible to service the alleys by hand, probably the most reliable, but also the most time consuming. Machines have been developed which, when placed upon an alley, will automatically drive themselves towards and away from the pins cleaning and oiling the alley as they move. These machines are quite sophisticated and constructed such that they hop out of the ball return which serves as a guide upon completion of the servicing. One of the problems with the machines presently on the market, although they service the alley in an adequate fashion, is that they require a fair amount of alley down time during the servicing and further the devices are extremely expensive to purchase and maintain. It is because of these factors i.e. the down time for the alley and the expense of the maintenance equipment that the alleys are not serviced as often as is desired and particularly not during periods of peak use. A given bowling establishment normally does not have several servicing machines and therefore, must cycle the servicing thereby giving those bowlers who bowl early in the period following servicing a far greater advantage than those who bowl later in a tournament when a particular lane has become dry.
Because of the controls necessary to cause a servicing machine to move down the alley return and not cause damage to the alley or surrounding areas, the machines that have traditionally been used for this operation are tremendously expensive. This factor, as noted above, prevents alleys from owning several machines enabling the servicing of several alleys simultaneously.
With the above noted problems and prior art in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for servicing bowling alleys which is both inexpensive and reliable allowing a bowling establishment to own more machines and thus enable more frequent servicing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for servicing bowling alleys wherein two adjacent alleys are serviced simultaneously and the total down time for the alleys during servicing is kept to a minimum thereby permitting servicing of the alleys during a period of great demand without delay of a game or tournament.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for servicing bowling alleys wherein two laterally extending rigid arms extend from a central control mechanism. Each of the laterally extending arms includes a means to scrub the alley surface as well as a means to apply the necessary oil. The central control apparatus is supported from the ceiling or roof of the building and has an articulated arm which extends substantially vertically downwardly during operation and collapses upwardly against the ceiling or roof when the apparatus is not in use.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an alley cleaning and surfacing mechanism which is simple in construction, far less expensive than those mechanisms heretofore available and one which although not permanently installed does not detract from the appearance of the alleys.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a servicing mechanism for bowling alleys wherein the entire mechanism is self-contained, instantly available for use and further, one which, because of its simplicity, is reliable and requires very little maintenance.